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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. file — a document
  4. capital — a city
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. file — a line of people
  8. race — a contest
  9. bound — tied together
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. race — the arms race
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. file — a tool
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bound — certain
  16. race — humankind
  17. capital — money
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bound — obliged
  21. hand — in cards
  22. kick — in football
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. ruler — for measuring

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com